Generally, financial automated apparatuses such as CDUs (Cash Dispenser Units) or BRMs (Bill Recycling Machines) have been developed to rapidly and conveniently provide the majority of financial services other than a face-to-face service in an unmanned manner regardless of the time. Such financial automated apparatuses are typically referred to as ATMs (Automated Teller Machine).
ATMS are imparted with functions for providing a variety of financial services as well as a cash deposit/withdrawal function.
In the case of cash, depending on the face value, the sizes and shapes of cash may vary, while cash of the same face value has the same size and shape. Thus, ATMs can accept a predetermined number of bills in a bundle. However, unlike bills, a variety of characters are printed on a check using a specific magnetic ink. A check acceptor reads characters, such as the serial number, printed on a check using a MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Reader) and then processes the deposit of the check.
The check acceptor generally includes an introduction unit which accepts a check, a check alignment unit which aligns the introduced check in a predetermined position, a transfer unit which transfers the aligned check, an MICR unit which reads information on the check, a printing unit that prints a character string transmitted from a top portion of the check onto the rear surface of the check, and a storage unit which sequentially stacks and stores checks that have been subjected to a deposit process.
In the check acceptor configured as above, unlike the automated bill deposit/withdrawal function of the ATM that accepts a bundle of a predetermined number of bills using the input unit, checks should be oriented in a specific direction and introduced into the introduction unit one after another so that the checks can be transferred along a predetermined transfer path and stored in the storage unit. That is, a check must be introduced into the introduction unit in a preset orientation in order for a check transfer operation to be able to be carried out. Moreover, there is a limited number of checks that can be introduced.
Therefore, a lot of checks should be inserted into the check acceptor over several times, causing the check deposit transaction to be time-consuming, and inconveniencing the user.
Furthermore, although all checks may be the same size for a certain country, for example, the size of a personal check personally issued may be different from that of a business check issued by a corporation. The check acceptor cannot process checks of different sizes.
In an effort to overcome the above problems, a bulk check acceptor was proposed in Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 10-2010-0030085, which was filed and commonly assigned to the applicant of the present invention. This bulk check acceptor can accept checks in a bundle regardless of the size of the checks or an orientation in which the checks are input into the bulk check acceptor. Further, components are efficiently arranged, thus increasing convenience of use, and achieving a compact design.
However, BNAs (Bundle Note Acceptors) which can accept bills in a bundle and BCAs (Bundle Check Acceptors) which can accept checks in a bundle are separately provided, thus inconveniencing users, and requiring a lot of installation space. Given purchase cost as well as the above disadvantageous factors, a combination of a BNA and a BCA is strongly required.